Shinjuku Boys
Encyclopedia
Shinjuku Boys is a 1995 film by Kim Longinotto
and Jano Williams. It explores the lives of three transgender women to men (WTM) who work at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo, Japan.
and Gold Prize at Houston Film Festival. The Film has received positive reviews in its 2010 releasee by Second Run DVD. In a review at DVDTalk Chris Neilson praised the films directors, commenting that "Through low-key cinéma vérité filmmaking, Longinotto and Williams provide insight into the professional and personal lives of the trio of onnabe". Sarah Cronin of Electric Sheep Magazine also notes that "Despite the fact that it’s a cruder, more dated film, it’s the strength of the interviews in Shinjuku Boys that makes it an even more arresting documentary."
Kim Longinotto
Kim Longinotto is a British documentary film maker, well known for making films which highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination...
and Jano Williams. It explores the lives of three transgender women to men (WTM) who work at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo, Japan.
Plot
Shinjuku Boys introduces three onnabes who work as hosts at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo. Onnabes are women who live as men and have girlfriends, although they don't usually identify as lesbians. As the film follows them at home and on the job, all three talk frankly to the camera about their gender-bending lives, revealing their views about women, sex, transvestitism and lesbianism. Alternating with these illuminating interviews are fabulous sequences shot inside the Club, patronized almost exclusively by heterosexual women who have become disappointed with real men. They often have relationships with them but the underlying fear is whether such a relationship can withstand the pressures on a woman to get married and have children.Reception
In 1995 Shinjuku Boys won Outstanding Documentary at the Sand Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. a Silver Hugo Prize at the Chicago International Film FestivalChicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
and Gold Prize at Houston Film Festival. The Film has received positive reviews in its 2010 releasee by Second Run DVD. In a review at DVDTalk Chris Neilson praised the films directors, commenting that "Through low-key cinéma vérité filmmaking, Longinotto and Williams provide insight into the professional and personal lives of the trio of onnabe". Sarah Cronin of Electric Sheep Magazine also notes that "Despite the fact that it’s a cruder, more dated film, it’s the strength of the interviews in Shinjuku Boys that makes it an even more arresting documentary."